


Easy Target

by Kittyswriting



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Avengers Family, De-aged tony, Gen, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 08:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4053631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittyswriting/pseuds/Kittyswriting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki turns Tony into an eight year old and the team has to try and find a way to fix him. De-Aged Tony Stark, Avengers team feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Day

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hello, me again. I wanted to write something a bit different than usual and I had a prompt for de-age and you guys know how much I love to hurt Tony. This was meant to just be a one shot, but I feel inspired so this will have several chapters. As always warnings for no beta and likely grammar errors.  
> Word prompt: de-age.

Tony hated magic, he really, really, really hated magic. Looking at himself in the mirror he wanted to find Loki and teach him a thing or two.

"Tony may I enter?"

He was surprised to hear Thor's voice. He thought Steve would be the first one to see him or Bruce. He thought about saying no, but even he knew he couldn't hide away forever. "Yeah, come in Thor." He called out his voice sounding too much like the child Loki had turned him into.

Thor came into the room and frowned when he saw Tony. "Man of Iron, I am truly sorry for what my brother has done to you. We will find him and get him to reverse this. If it is of any comfort Loki's trickery spells usually do not last very long."

Tony nodded and thought about what Thor said. "It's okay Thor, it's not your fault Loki turned me into a eight year old." Although he was mostly guessing about the age, the scans Bruce took suggested he was between the ages of eight and ten.

"But he is my brother, that makes him my responsibility. But that is not the only reason I have come here. The others wished to know if you'd be willing to come down and eat with us?" Tony guessed that they probably wouldn't accept a no, they usually didn't when it was about food.

Tony bit his lip and looked up at Thor, god the guy was like a giant now. "Thor? No one's going to laugh at me are they?" Tony asked, feeling a tad embarrassed about his current situation. Thor had always been honest with him, and he never made fun of him.

Thor kneeled down and smiled at him. "If anyone does they will face the wrath of Mjölnir." Thor lifted his hammer with glee which made Tony feel a bit better. Thor than got up and offered his hand to Tony. "Shall we go now?"

Tony thought about it and nodded. Taking Thor's hand, they went down into the kitchen/dining area. There was only Bruce there cooking what looked to be some kind of Indian dish. "Bruce, what are you making?" He asked trying to see.

"Tony! You startled me, it's chicken biryani. It was Clint's turn to choose and he wanted Indian and this was always one of my favorite dishes." Bruce said smiling.

"Can I see it?" Tony asked curiously.

"Sure, I can go find a stool or something." He said looking around for something Tony could stand on.

"Bruce, you use to carry me when I was a fully grown adult. There's nothing weird about lifting me now I'm a kid again." It was true, Bruce would carry him sometimes when he fell asleep on the couch. He didn't know why he'd feel weird about lifting him up now.

Bruce smiled that lopsided grin of his and lifted Tony up so he could see the food. "I know, but I wasn't sure if you'd still be okay with it. Besides I wouldn't have to carry you if you didn't fall asleep in weird places." He said carefully as Tony's hand held onto his shirt.

"If I'm okay with it as an adult then it would be strange to have some problem with it as a child. I just don't want to be treated differently, I'm still me. Just smaller. And I do not fall asleep in weird places." Tony said softly.

"I promise Tony no one's going to treat you any differently. We'll find Loki and this whole thing will be nothing but a memory." Bruce promised before putting Tony back down.  
Tony nodded. It wasn't long before dinner was ready, him and Thor helped set the table while Bruce called the other Avengers.

"Need a booster seat Stark?" Clint said teasingly, as he entered the room. The familiar banter made Tony smile.

"You're just jealous cos now I'm the cutest." It felt good to be teased a little, him and Hawkeye always had that kind of friendship he didn't want Clint to stop just because he wasn't himself.

The dinner continued much like it always would, but Tony wasn't really feeling good. No matter how much he tried to act like he usually would, there was no getting away from the fact that things had changed. He just hoped they could change it back once they found Loki.

"Tony, you okay? You haven't eaten much." Tony looked up and saw Steve standing next to him. Apparently he'd finished dinner while Tony was lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm okay Cap. Just not very hungry." He said softly moving to get off of his chair.

"How about some dessert?" Steve asked kneeling down so he was eye level with his now much smaller friend. Tony wasn't sure whether he liked people kneeling down to look at him. It was a little better than having to always look up at people, but it just served to remind him how much shorter he was now.

"No, thank you. I'm really just not hungry Steve."

Whatever Steve was going to say to that was interrupted by Natasha's voice. "Are you two coming for movie night or shall we start without you?"

"Shall we go? It is your turn to pick a movie." Steve asked holding his hand out for Tony.

Tony nodded and took Steve's hand. He didn't know why Thor and Steve were suddenly wanting to hold his hand like that just because he was technically a child. But he wasn't going to complain, it was more affection then he got from them usually. Not that they weren't affectionate with him, but their friendship didn't usually include holding his hand.

They ended up watching Die Hard, mostly because Thor hadn't seen it yet which was just a tragedy of epic proportions that had to be fixed. Tony ended up sitting where he always did right next to Natasha, they always cuddled up when it was movie night and it wasn't gonna be any different now.

After the movie had finished Steve wanted to go over some training thing, Tony wasn't really paying attention. He was comfortable and whatever Steve was talking about seemed kind of boring. He already knew how everyone was during their last training session, Jarvis recorded it just like he always did.

Tony started rubbing his eyes, he had been awake for over 36 hours at this point and he still felt pretty stressed after everything that had happened. It wasn't long before sleep crept up on him and he was out like a light.

Clint was the first one to notice, he had to admit Tony was an adorable kid. "Guys, the kid's asleep."

Steve stopped talking to look at Tony. "Someone should take him upstairs. Sleeping on the sofa won't do him any good." He said turning to Bruce.

"Why are you looking at me Steve?"

"Bruce you usually carry adult Tony to bed. We figured you'd be the one to carry kid Tony too." Clint answered instead.

"Steve and Thor carried him just as much as I did. If we didn't Tony probably would never actually sleep in a actual bed." Bruce said finishing his drink of green tea.

"The Man of Iron does seem to like falling asleep in strange places. I have asked the Warriors Three and Lady Sif to keep an eye and an ear out for Loki. We shall find him and he shall reverse this." Thor still blamed himself for what happened.

"The sooner the better, Tony can't fight like this." Clint frowned thoughtfully at Steve's words.  
"I wouldn't say that. I mean he can't go to battles with us but he can still help, he's still a genius. Besides I'd like to see you try and stop him from helping us Steve." Clint said sighing and gently picking Tony up. "I'll take him to bed." He raised his eyebrow at Natasha and she nodded. The two of them leaving for the elevator with Tony in Clint's arms.

Steve still thought the silent communication between the two of them was a little unnerving at times. He turned back to Thor and Bruce. "So any ideas? Tony is a child, and realistically we have no idea how to reverse it other than look for Loki."

"What about Doctor Strange? Maybe he could reverse it." Bruce suggested getting up from his chair.

"Loki's spells usually can only be reversed by him. However it might be worth a try."  
Steve turned to look at Thor, he noticed how weary the thunder god looked. "Thor, you can't blame yourself for this."

"It was my brother that did this, Loki has always been my responsibility even if he does not think it. I feel partly to blame for this."

"Steve is right Thor. Tony doesn't blame you. I don't know why Loki would do this, other than to try and weaken us by taking out Iron Man but it's not your fault." Bruce placed an arm on Thor's shoulder hoping to comfort him somewhat.

"We'll fix this, but until then we have to figure out a way to keep Tony safe. Which is probably going to be harder considering Tony himself probably won't like the idea of being protected." Steve sighed, he had no idea how he was going to keep Tony safe.

"Maybe we could make it seem like we're not? We could have at least one person with him at all times but make it seem like it's for a different reason?"

"What do you mean Bruce?" Steve asked curious at what exactly Bruce was getting at.

"Well, what if we kept an eye on him without keeping an eye on him? Clint can use the vents to watch him without Tony knowing. You and Thor could ask him about things you don't know, he'll spend time with you trying to explain it and you can watch him without him ever knowing. I could watch him while asking for his thoughts on a science experiment. I'm pretty sure Natasha could watch him without ever needing an excuse. We could even ask Pepper to keep him busy with SI stuff." Bruce hoped his plan wouldn't backfire on them.

"That sounds like a great idea, Tony might actually enjoy it too. It should help keep him busy." Steve said with a grin.

"I do not like the idea of lying to him, it does not feel right." Steve knew Thor had a point but he didn't think there was any other way. He wanted to protect Tony and right now he was more vulnerable than he'd ever been before.

"I know how you feel Thor, but he's not safe. He could easily get hurt right now, and Tony is so independent he probably wouldn't accept being watched over." That sounded weak even to Steve's ears.

"Or maybe you just underestimate him. However you are the Captain I will follow your wishes, I do believe there's a way we can do this that does not involve lying to him though." And with that Thor left the room leaving behind a thoughtful Bruce and Steve.

Bruce placed his hand on Steve's shoulder and smiled. "I think we should get some rest Steve, Thor made a good point so let's just sleep on it. Let's just see how things look tomorrow and go from there."

And with that Bruce retired to his floor leaving a thoughtful Steve alone.


	2. The Games We Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Steve don't seem to realize Tony isn't actually a child and have issues. When Tony gets mad it's up to Hawkeye to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do want to mention that Bruce and Steve are acting not so great in this, they're scared for Tony but it's wrong of them to make decisions for him which is going to be addressed. This is quite heavy on the Clint/Tony friendship this time round.  
> Word prompt: games.

Tony hadn't touched his breakfast, he wasn't hungry. Which wasn't that weird, he remembered as a child he'd always been a fussy eater. Jarvis, the human one had always tried to get him to eat more. Kind of like Steve was doing now, but Tony just couldn't eat his stomach didn't feel good.

"Steve, please I'm not hungry." He pleaded trying to get Steve to stop.

"Tony, you didn't finish your dinner last night either is something wrong?" Steve asked bending down to look at Tony.

"No, nothing is wrong. I'm just really not hungry." Tony said hoping Steve would just drop it, he didn't want to explain that his stomach had been hurting for the past few days.

"Maybe we should give you a check up?" Bruce added.

"Et tu Bruce?" Tony asked pouting.

"We just want to make sure you're okay Tony." Steve added and suddenly Tony was feeling very ganged up on. Luckily Clint came to save him from the questioning.

"Papa bear and mama bear, chill out. You're just making the kid feel bad, why not see how he feels tomorrow and if he still hasn't eaten much than he can have the check up sound fair Tony?" Clint said ruffling Tony's hair.

"Okay, that sounds fair." Tony said trying to dodge Clint's hand. He'd just have to make sure he ate something later.

Bruce and Steve looked worried but seemed to agree.

"The question I want to know is between Bruce and Steve which one is the papa and which one is the mama?" Natasha asked Clint with a smirk that said she probably already knew but wanted to have a little fun.

"Steve's so the mama and Bruce is obviously the papa." Clint explained before stealing one of the leftover pieces of bacon from Tony's plate.

"Why am I the mama?" Steve asked confused.

"Easy, you're hovering over Tony like one of those olden time mothers."

While Steve and Clint started arguing over how Steve was apparently not the mother hen which he so was. Tony was looking around for Thor, and surprised when he couldn't find him."Where's Thor?"

"I think he went back to Asgard to talk to some sorcerers there see if they could help you." Natasha replied before taking a bite out of her apple.

"Speaking of that we're going to go talk to Doctor Strange about that too." Steve said in his best authoritative Captain America voice.

"Awesome, when do we go?" Tony asked feeling confident that Strange could help.

"Tony, you can't come it's too dangerous." and if Tony didn't feel like a child before he sure as hell did now.

"Steve that's not fair. You can't tell me where to go and where not to go, I may look like a child but I still have my adult mind." Tony said feeling kind of insulted that Steve wouldn't even ask him about this first.

"Tony we're just trying to protect you." Bruce added coming to Steve's defense.

"I don't need it." Tony was starting to get mad. They couldn't just tell him where to go or what to do he wasn't an actual child.

"We just want to keep you safe." Steve said in his best soothing voice.

"No, this isn't about keeping me safe this is making decisions for me. I may look like a child but I am not one, I should be able to choose what's best for me not have it be made for me." Tony said and promptly left the room.

He took the elevator to Clint's room, he knew the others wouldn't look for him there. Usually he'd see a fight the whole way through but he could already feel his eyes gathering tears and he did not want to cry in front of them. They already thought he was a child, crying would only make it worse. It would make him seem weak, and he was not weak.

It was an hour later when JARVIS informed him that the Avengers had left to see Doctor Strange. He thought Steve would have come and found him before he left. JARVIS seemed to pick up on his thoughts and informed him that Clint and Natasha had told Steve to give him some space and let him calm down.

Which had helped, he felt a lot better now than he did earlier. There was only one problem...  
Tony was bored, he was really, really bored. It was only his second day as a child and he had nothing to do. Steve and Bruce agreed that in his current body he shouldn't be in the workshop, which was just dumb. He was making and building stuff when he was an actual child, which apparently neither of them agreed with. So he was banned from his lab and completely and totally bored. He hated the way they were treating him, he could make his own decisions it wasn't right and it wasn't fair.

"You know if you keep pouting your face will stay that way."

Tony was surprised to see Clint, then again it was his room so maybe he should have expected it. But he had thought he left with the other Avengers.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked.

"I'm here to see my favorite little buddy." Clint said with a grin and sat down next to Tony. Little buddy was a nickname he'd earned after one night of drinking with the archer. The little part was because he was shorter than Clint and the buddy was mostly because he had said about being Clint's new drinking buddy.

"You sure it's not cos Steve sent you to watch me?" Steve seemed to be under the impression that now he needed to be protected. He was still Tony Stark he could handle himself, but ever since Loki transformed him, Steve had been acting really weird.

"Nope, it's because I wanted talk to you. Go easy on the Cap, he means well." Clint knew that Steve was just worried about the now younger Tony. He couldn't seem to realize that Tony was still Tony.

"I know he does, but I just don't want things to change and they are. He's treating me like a little kid." Tony pouted and moved closer to Clint.

"He doesn't mean to. Let me ask you this Tony, if someone attacked you now could you get in one of the suits?"

Tony shook his head. "No, they were made for a fully grown man not a child."

"Okay, could you defend yourself physically if someone attacked you? Is there anyway you could protect yourself?" Tony was beginning to understand why Clint was asking him these questions.

"No, I couldn't....." Tony said his voice sounding as small as he currently was.

"Than you know why Steve is treating you like this. I know you don't like the idea of being protected, but you need it. You have no way to protect yourself, if you went with the others to Strange and someone attacked you'd be helpless. Just like any other child would be. You're so vulnerable right now Tony, we don't want you to get hurt."

"I didn't think about it like that, I just wanted to be me." Tony said softly.

"I know, but you were right about one thing. They shouldn't be making decisions for you. I think the problem is Bruce and Steve see you as a child, you look like one and I think both of them realize how vulnerable you are right now." Clint said gently his hand stroking Tony's hair.

"I'm not that vulnerable...." Tony tried to protest but it sounded weak even to his ears.

"You kind of are buddy. The armors won't work while you're like this and you can't physically fight someone off, you have no powers or anyway to defend yourself. You're the most vulnerable you've ever been Tony, and I think Bruce and Steve can see that and they're scared to lose you."

"Why would they be scared to lose me?"

"Because you big dummy, it may come as a shock to you but we love you. You gave us all a home Tony. You were the first person to treat Bruce normally, you had faith in him when no one else did and you're not afraid of the Hulk. You've been there for Steve, shown him new things and helped him get use to the modern world or at least you've tried more than most people have. You've given me and Nat a family, you've been there for us after missions, you're not afraid of us and trust me given both of our reputations that's not easy to come by. I'm pretty sure Thor's adopted you, he was worried you'd blame him for this. The Avengers are a family, and you're a very large part of that family." Clint said with one of his rare smiles which made Tony feel a bit better.

"I never thought about it like that...." Tony said softly. It made him feel special, he knew they were all friends and roommates but he never thought they considered him family.

"Well start thinking about it like that then. Now come on, let's go down to the common room. I wanna kick your butt at Mario Kart." Clint said getting up.

"Sure, but you're going down Katniss." He said racing forward and telling JARVIS to take them down.

"Why'd you go to my room anyway?" Clint asked while they waited for the elevator to take them to the common room.

"Cos I figured no one would think to look for me there." Tony replied walking out one they were finally on the right floor.

"Except for me and Nat." Clint said with a smirk as he powered up the game.

"I knew you two wouldn't bother me if I was mad, you never do." Tony replied grabbing the console.

"That's because I have perfect vision, and Nat is crazy intuitive. We get that you need some space, but you do realize that when they come back you'll have to talk to them?" Clint said as he started the race.

"Can't I just play video games with you?" Tony absolutely did not want to have that talk.  
"Afraid not, small but mighty. They're just trying to do their best, I'm not saying you have to forgive them but this isn't going to get resolved by sitting in silence. Nothing ever does." Tony sometimes forgot how smart Clint could be sometimes.

"What if they try to keep treating me like this?"

"They probably will. Tony I don't know if you've realized this but they pretty much treated you like this when you looked like an adult. Except for the not letting you make your own decisions thing, that's new." Clint said his eyes never going off the TV screen.

"They did?" Tony couldn't really remember if they did or didn't.

"Hell yeah. Tony, Steve has been on your case about eating right since he moved in. He was constantly reminding you to eat with us. Bruce was always carrying you to bed when you fell asleep on the couch. I think because you look like a kid now you're looking for these things, but I can guarantee this morning when both of them were fretting over you being sick would have happened whether you looked eight or thirty-eight."

Tony never really gave it much thought, but now that Clint had mentioned it Steve and Bruce were kind of on him about being more careful. "Why are they like that with me though? They don't treat you or Natasha like that."

"Maybe, genius one because they don't have to be? Me and Nat eat when we're supposed to and sleep in an actual bed. You keep working until your body shuts down, you eat snacks so you can keep working and you've even hidden your injuries from us before. They're worried about you because you have no self preservation." Clint said as he finished the race beating Tony.

"That's not true, I just...." Tony trailed off he wasn't sure what to say. It was kind of true, he didn't eat with the team unless someone dragged him. It was just easier, he could get more work done and his father had done the same. He couldn't sleep most nights, so it was better to go to his lab and just create something that would help people. His mind was constantly coming up with new ideas it was hard to just shut it off.

"Tony, just talk to them. This is weird for all of us, you more than anyone. They won't be back for a while though so until then how about I destroy you on another game of Mario Kart?"

"I wanna play a different game you always beat everyone at Mario Kart." Tony insisted stubbornly.

"That's because I have excellent hand-eye coordination. You pick any game you want boy genius, I can beat you at anything." Clint said as Tony went to go look for a game.

He wasn't sure if he'd actually talk to Steve and Bruce, talking involved feelings. He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit how he felt quite yet. But until they came back he had Clint to beat and sure the archer might be good at video games but he was positive he'd win at a more intellectual game.


	3. Pain is Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Steve come back and Tony has a hard talk to them about the way they've been treating him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I just wanted to thank everyone who has left me messages or kudos for this story. It means a lot to me that people actually like this story. This chapter will be focusing on Steve/Tony/Bruce and how they've been a little overly protective. Also Tony angst.
> 
> Word prompt: hugs.

Steve and Bruce came back faster than Tony would have liked, he had hoped he'd be able to put off this talk for longer. But luckily for him Doctor Strange also came back with them and wanted to take a look at Tony. So they went down to Tony's lab for a few tests, but that just meant more poking and prodding, with the same answer.  
  
Doctor Strange couldn't do anything, this was Loki's magic and only Loki's magic could reverse it. Which definitely put a damper on Tony's mood. Strange had been his best bet, but now he just had to hope they could catch Loki soon.  
  
"Don't worry Tony. We'll get you out of this." Natasha said as she laid a hand on his shoulder. He hoped she was right, he wanted this whole thing to be over.  
  
"Natasha's right Tony, we're your team we have your back. We'll find Loki and make sure he turns you back to your adult self." Steve said kneeling down in front of Tony.  
  
"In the meantime me and Nat are going to check something out. Tony remember what you said." Clint said as he and Nat walked over to the elevator and disappeared.  
  
"What does Clint mean Tony?" Bruce asked confused.  
  
"Nothing, we just talked about something." Tony said softly, he didn't really feel like talking to Bruce or Steve but he knew that if he didn't they'd continue treating him like they were.  
  
"Okay, are you feeling better than you were this morning?" Steve asked gently sharing a look at Bruce, like they were doing the silent communication thing that Natasha and Clint always did. What was with people and doing silent communication? how was Tony supposed to know what everyone was saying unless they said it out loud?  
  
"There was nothing wrong with me this morning! You two are just being too over-protective. I'm not actually a child." Tony said stubbornly.  
  
"I meant your stomach Tony. You've barely eaten anything these past few days." Steve said gently, he was still kneeling in front of Tony. He has yet to decide whether he liked that or not.  
  
"Oh, I thought you meant about the whole staying here thing." Tony said getting tired of standing. He started moving to the sofa and sitting down on that. At least then Bruce and Steve could sit next to him if they wanted to be eye-level instead of kneeling.  
  
"Tony me and Steve are just trying to look out for you. You're more vulnerable now than you've ever been you have no protection outside of the tower." Bruce said sitting down next to Tony.  
  
"That's not it though. I get that I'd have no protection if anyone attacked, but you guys aren't looking out for me. You're making my decisions for me, and that's not okay. You didn't come to me and say you think it would be best if I stay here, you made the decision for me. I know I may look like a child, but I'm not. I'm smart enough to make the choice about what's best for me, Loki's already taken away so much from me don't let him take away my right to make my own choices too." Tony said not even looking at either Bruce or Steve.  
  
"You're right Tony, I'm sorry. Bruce and I..... We didn't mean to do that to you. We just wanted to keep you safe. We didn't think we were making your choices for you, we just wanted to do what was best for you and yes I realize how bad that sounds." Steve sighed as he made his way over to the sofa and sat next to Tony.  
  
"Tony, right now you really do look like a child and it's hard for the both of us to remember that you're not. We don't mean to try and make decisions for you, but you don't always make the best ones. That's no excuse for doing what we did but..." Bruce trailed off looking more than a little uncomfortable.  
  
"I know you guys think I don't make the best choices but I do. It's just not your definition of best but it's mine. I don't sleep because I can't, I can't go to sleep every night or else I go crazy. My brain is always so loud and it has so many ideas, so much I could do I just can't turn all that off every night." It doesn't help that most nights he has nightmares but he wasn't about to tell Bruce and Steve that. "I ate small snacks during the day, they're always healthy and full of energy. You guys may not think it's good for me not to eat big meals but big meals take so much time. Time I don't always have, sometimes there's things I have to get finished. Like upgrades to weapons that could save us, or things for the company that are needed by a certain time frame. The company, my company pays for everything here. The Avengers, the food, the weapons, everything... I can't afford to not be on top or we'll all lose everything." Tony finally said, he never told them where exactly the money from the Avengers came from before.  
  
"Tony.....Are you telling us that all the money we use comes from you and not SHIELD?" Steve asked in disbelief.  
  
"That's exactly what I'm telling you Steve. If Stark Industries is to stay on top and continue making enough money to fund the Avengers and all the good we do than I have to stay on top and keep designing. I may not make the best choices for myself but this is what's best for us and for the world." Tony was surprised when he felt arms around him holding him close. He knew by the strong hold that it was Steve and he hugged the other man back wrapping his arms around Steve's neck.  
  
"Oh Tony, why didn't you tell us? We should have known." Steve said softly his hand was rubbing up and down Tony's back in the same way Edwin Jarvis did when he was actually a child.  
  
"Why? It wouldn't have changed anything." Tony said softly.  
  
"Tony you deserve to have people know all you're doing for us. We all would have been more careful about what we were doing and spending if we knew it was all your money." Bruce said, Tony had his back turned to him so he wasn't quite sure what Bruce was doing.  
  
"Tony we wouldn't have been so hard on you either if we knew. We were just worried about your health, but you're wrong about one thing. The best choice for the Avengers isn't you working yourself to death. The best choice for the Avengers is having a healthy Tony Stark, and not just because you're Iron Man. We're a family, you made us a family. You've given us more than even we thought you had, out of the goodness of your heart. We need you to be okay." Steve added moving away from the hug just enough to look Tony in the eye.  
  
Tony wasn't sure what to say to all of that. He hadn't thought about how deeply all the Avengers cared about him, but that was something he was quickly learning. "I will be okay, I just need to get back to being me again." He said cursing how emotional he felt, he always had more control than this. But ever since Loki made him younger he had been feeling things more, and it made him wonder if Loki's magic was just affecting his body?  
  
"You're still you Tony, even if you're smaller. Loki didn't change who you are, Tony Stark is still an Avenger." Bruce said gently his hand on Tony's shoulder.  
  
"Thanks Bruce. Does this mean I still have to get a check up tomorrow?" Tony asked frowning.  
"If you don't eat dinner than yes. And I'd be saying that even if you were older, you've barely eaten these past two days. You might be getting sick." Bruce said gently.  
  
"I'm not getting sick, I just don't want to eat. Is it really that much of a surprise considering what Loki did to me?" Tony said even though he knew the stomach pain he had been feeling probably wasn't because of Loki.  
  
"Tony you still need to eat. Now more than ever, I'll admit we were too protective and shouldn't have made your decisions for you. But not eating or only eating a few meals a day isn't good. I haven't even seen you snacking." Steve said gently.  
  
"You've been gone nearly all day though." Tony said stubbornly.  
  
"Yes, but I talked to Clint he said you hadn't eaten with him either. Which means you've had nothing since breakfast." Steve said he had on his disapproval frown.  
  
"I'm just not hungry though." Tony said feeling the weight of having both of his friends look at him like he had something wrong with him.  
  
"Tony if you say you're okay and you're not hurting or anything like that then we'll leave it alone but you should have a small snack. Steve and I are just really worried about you." Bruce sounded really worried too and now Tony was starting to feel kind of bad because he had been keeping his pain from them. But it was just a stomach ache nothing serious.  
  
"Okay, maybe I've had a slight stomach ache but it's nothing serious." Tony admitted, better to just get it over with after all.  
  
"Tony why didn't you tell us?" Steve said sounding scolding. Tony was certain he'd sound just as scolding if Tony was still in his adult body.  
  
"Because it's just a stomach ache it's not a big deal." Tony remembered the words his parents use to tell him. He was a Stark, he had to be tough, he was born with iron in his backbone.  
"Tony, if this stomach pain is enough to keep you from eating than it could be serious. You know better than to ignore something like this." Bruce said gently.  
  
"I know it's just my mom..." Tony trailed off shaking his head, Bruce and Steve didn't need to know about that.  
  
"Tony?" Bruce asked and the way he looked at Tony he knew exactly what Bruce was asking.  
"She use to tell me that I had to be tough and not weak. I don't know being this young again makes me remember some stuff." He said avoiding looking at either one of his friends. Neither one of his parents had been that great, Howard....Tony never thought he was that bad of a dad. He wasn't the best but there was dad's out there that physically and sexually hurt their kids. Compared to them Howard was a Saint.  
  
Steve wrapped an arm around Tony holding him close, it wasn't that unusual as friends they'd been pretty touchy feely before. Tony was a physically affectionate person with certain people. Those certain people usually consisted of the Avengers, Rhodey and Pepper though.  
  
"Tony it's not weak to admit you aren't feeling well. Why don't I take your temperature and check your chest and if that checks out okay you can have some soup?" Bruce asked brushing Tony's hair. It was mandatory for him to always get his chest checked out when he was sick. After getting vivisected there was some lung damage so making sure his chest wasn't affected when they thought he might be sick was number one on the priority list.  
  
Tony nodded and watched as Bruce got up off of the sofa.  
  
"We need to go down to the medical floor so I can check your chest properly." Bruce explained as Steve and Tony followed him to the elevator.  
  
Tony wasn't at all surprised to find Steve coming too. Steve always liked to know if one of his team wasn't okay, so he was usually there whenever one of them had to go to the medical wing. When they got there Bruce had him sit on one of those hospital beds while he checked him over.  
  
Tony hoped that he wasn't getting sick, and that his stomach ache wasn't anything serious.  
  
Tony should have known better than to hope. It never works out well for him when he does.


	4. Never Trust a Trickster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Steve find out what's wrong with Tony and all three of them learn they should never trust Loki's words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter's focusing mainly on Steve, Bruce and Tony. I've never written Loki before so hopefully I haven't done too bad of a job with his character.
> 
> Also thank you to everyone that has read, commented or left kudos for this. 
> 
> Word prompt: playing with hair.

Bruce was very gentle during the physical exam and it felt nice having Steve right by his side playing with his hair as Bruce poked and prodded him. When the results came back Bruce had that look of worry on his face which definitely didn't make Tony feel any better.  
  
"What is it Bruce?" Steve asked his hand still playing with Tony's curls.  
  
"It's nothing serious, Tony has Gastroenteritis aka the stomach flu. He'll need to drink plenty of water and rest, I'll prescribe something for the nausea and then he'll be right as rain in a few days. But Tony you need to tell us if you start throwing up or experience diarrhea, if that happens for more than 24 hours you'll need to go to the hospital." Bruce explained in his doctor voice, which made Tony sigh but he nodded.  
  
He hated getting sick, he was always a active person staying in bed was just not his thing. He blamed Loki for this, even if the Trickster couldn't have made him sick he still blamed him for it.  
  
"When should he try to eat something?" Steve asked his hand brushing through Tony's hair which did feel nice.  
  
"He can try a little bit of broth tonight, than tomorrow we can try some bananas, and maybe some crackers. We have to take it easy and slowly re-introduce him to solid foods." Bruce explained to Steve.  
  
"I'm still here you know? You can at least act like you're talking to me." Tony said feeling like they were treating him like a kid. Or maybe they weren't and he was just feeling like they were because he was looking for it?  
  
"Tony, be a little nicer we're all just trying to help you. Bruce doesn't deserve your attitude right now." Steve said sternly.  
  
"It's okay Steve. Tony I was telling everyone in the room not just Steve." Bruce explained calmly.  
  
Tony still pouted, it wasn't fair for Steve to chastise him the way he did.  
  
"If I give you a lollipop will that make you smile?" Bruce asked with a grin, which made Tony laugh.  
  
Okay so maybe he wasn't being completely fair. "Depends what kind?" Tony asked with a smirk.  
  
It took a few minutes but Steve finally got what Tony meant and the look of horror on his face was worth it. "Tony, no. You are not allowed to make sex jokes or sexual references until you are at least eighteen again. For mine and Bruce's sanity please."  
  
"Eighteen!? I was having sex way before than let alone making jokes." Tony said trying to defend himself but this only seemed to give Steve more cause for concern.  
  
"What! Who would have sex with an underage kid?" Steve asked brushing Tony's hair back.  
"Steve I started MIT when I was fifteen. I wasn't exactly spending all that time being single." Tony said leaning into Steve's touch.  
  
"Tony...." Steve started but Tony just sighed and moved around to look at Steve.  
  
"Stop, I'm fine. I'm not scarred because of it, I wasn't forced, I wanted to have sex and okay it wasn't the best first time but that's only because we were both so inexperienced. I know this is weird coming from someone that physically looks like a child, but mentally I'm still an adult, Loki didn't change that." Tony said sighing.  
  
Steve looked like he was about to say something but instead nodded. "Okay Tony, I think maybe I wasn't being fair. I know you're not actually a child and I need to remember that. But I will say you should have saved yourself, because your first time should be with someone you love who will treat you special."  
  
"Steve you may have just reached a new level of wholesome. You're so young sometimes, and I know it sounds weird coming from a eight year old or someone that looks eight. But my first time was with a guy I thought I did love and we were together for two years that's like a lifetime compared to how long most of my relationships have lasted." Tony said honestly.  
  
"A guy?" It was actually Bruce that asked that question, which surprised Tony. He was sure Steve would have asked that before Bruce.  
  
"Yeah a guy, I like guys and girls." He said feeling a little nervous. His sexuality had never come up before, and considering he now looked like a child it was kind of strange talking about it.  
  
"I'm glad you had a good first experience Tony, I still don't think it was wise to do it until you were over the age of consent though. But can we please talk about something else now? Not because of this just you look and sound eight it feels....weird hearing those words from a child's voice." Bruce said stumbling over his words a little which probably showed how nervous he was.  
  
"Sure Bruce, I didn't really think how it would make you guys feel hearing it from mini me?" Tony said happy to get away from that particular topic of conversation. He turned round to Steve when he felt the other's hand in his hair again.  
  
"Come on, let's get you to bed. You need your rest." Steve said softly once again playing with Tony's hair.  
  
"What's with you and my hair?" Tony asked curious why Steve kept doing it.  
  
"I guess it's an old habit. Bucky use to like having his hair played with whenever he was sick or hurt and I liked being able to be the one to comfort him for once. I was always getting sick back then and he was constantly having to comfort me, so it felt nice being the one doing the comforting." Steve admitted, smiling at the memories.  
  
Tony nodded at this new information, he didn't want to pry too much. "It feels nice..." He admitted leaning slightly into the hand. "Aunt Peggy use to do it too when she came and looked after me."  
  
Steve's hand stilled when Tony mentioned Peggy. "Aunt Peggy? As in Peggy Carter?"  
  
Tony looked up at Steve curiously. "Yeah, she was my godmother. I call her my aunt though because she use to look after me a lot." Tony knew that Steve had loved Peggy, and she loved him too. It wasn't hard to figure out given the way his aunt would talk about Steve.  
  
"I never knew she was your godmother, or that you guys were that close."  
  
"Yeah, I go to see her sometimes when she's having her good days. When she's having her bad days she thinks I'm Howard and that brings up some not so good stuff for us both." He said softly not wanting to go into too much detail.  
  
"I'm sorry Tony. Maybe you and I can go see her together soon?" Steve said softly.  
  
"I'd like that Steve. But when I'm big again, Peggy has enough trouble with things I don't want to add to the confusion by showing up as the eight year old she use to babysit for."  
  
"I guess the future has a way of surprising me even now." Steve said which made Tony frown a little.  
  
"But we're not the future, if you think about it Steve this is your present. If you continue thinking about it like that then you're constantly going to feel like you don't fit in." Bruce said gently.  
  
"I suppose you have a point." Steve said the hand going back in Tony's hair.  
  
Tony leaned in to it, he was beginning to think that playing with someone's hair was a comfort to Steve. It made sense, it probably brought back memories of Bucky.  
  
"Such a sweet scene."  
  
Tony froze when he heard that voice, the slyness could only belong to Loki.  
  
"Loki! how'd you get in here?" Steve asked grabbing his shield and quickly moved so he was in a position to defend if Loki decided to attack.  
  
"Your little security is mere child's play to me. Speaking of child's play, how are you enjoying your second childhood Stark?" Loki asked with a grin.  
  
"You can take it back! I don't want to be eight anymore." Tony yelled frustrated.  
  
"Oh no? You don't like my little present for you? I did hear that you and your merry band of misfits were looking for me." Loki said taking a step closer to Tony only for Bruce to move in front of him.  
  
"You don't want to do that." Bruce said his eyes flashing green.  
  
"Relax gentleman, and I use that term loosely. I have come to.....help. I'll make it so Tony is no longer a precocious eight year old." Loki said holding his hands up in defeat.  
  
"You will?" Tony asked unsure, Loki wasn't known as the Trickster for nothing.  
  
"I swear it on my life that when I'm done with you, you won't be eight anymore."  
  
"Why? This isn't like you Loki, you usually prefer to sit back and enjoy your games." Steve didn't trust Loki's word. Thor had said he was known as the Prince of Lies, he wouldn't put it past him to lie about this too.  
  
"Well that's easier to do when I don't have practically all of Midgard and Asgard looking for me." Loki said looking annoyed.  
  
"I'll go get Thor and then-  
  
"Sorry Captain, I'm a busy man. We either do it here and now or Stark stays a eight year old."  
  
"Do it. I want to be free of this and get on with my life." Tony said desperate for this whole thing to be over.  
  
In hindsight he really should have thought about Loki's words more carefully. Loki waved his staff, and Tony was no longer eight.....He was a much smaller four year old.  
  
"Loki!" Tony said in shock when he saw himself.  
  
"What? I swore on my life that when I was done you'd no longer be an eight year old. You're not, I never once said I'd turn you back into an adult." Loki said as he was enveloped in green mist, disappearing before Steve could catch him.  
  
"We should have known it was a trick." Bruce said angrily his skin turning a shade of green.  
  
"Bruce..." Tony said tugging on Bruce's shirt and if Tony thought being eight was bad than being four was a living hell.  
  
"Tony....You're tiny." Bruce said which did make Tony smile a little bit.  
  
"Kind of stating the obvious there Bruce." Tony said softly. He knew even as a child he'd been small for his age. Loki had played them all, no wonder Thor said his brother had a silver tongue.  
  
Steve sighed and looked at the now much tinier Tony. "I don't know why Loki would do this, but I promise you Tony we will fix this."  
  
"Why does Loki do anything? It's fun for him, I'm sure he's laughing about this now." Tony said sullenly, he felt like this nightmare would never end.  
  
"Well no matter your age, you know we're here for you right Tony? We're a family and we won't stop until you're back to the age you're supposed to be." Steve said wrapping his arms around Tony in a hug. Tony wrapped his little arms around Steve's neck and held on.  
  
He wished he could hide in Steve's arms forever, he didn't want to face the rest of the team. He was scared, what if they laughed? What if they didn't want him around?  
  
"It's going to be okay Tony I promise." Steve said softly holding Tony close.  
  
"You read minds now Steve?" Tony asked softly.  
  
"Nope, but I know you." Steve said pacing up and down with Tony in his arms and if Tony wasn't feeling so upset he'd probably have demanded to be put down.  
  
"Why don't you take Tony upstairs? He really does need his rest." Bruce said softly.  
  
Tony wanted to argue and tell them to stop making decisions for him. But he couldn't find the effort to do so. He felt sick and horrible, he was even younger and all he wanted was to curl up in his bed and pretend this wasn't happening to him.  
  
Steve said some words but Tony was too exhausted to pick them up, the last thing he remembered before falling asleep was being placed on something soft and feeling Steve's big hands playing with his hair.


	5. The Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has a talk with Thor, afterwards the God of Thunder goes off to find Fandral to help them shine some light on what happened when Loki did this in the past. After Tony wakes up Bruce shows up and tries to get him to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This was actually supposed to be updated last week but then I got sick. I know it's been ages and I'm sorry for making you all wait this long but hopefully you all love this chapter and it makes up for me taking forever to write it.

Steve sighed when Tony was finally fast asleep, of all the things that could have happened this was the last thing any of them needed. He should have known, should have questioned Loki more, called Thor, just done something.  
  
Steve was brought out of his musing when he heard a knock on his door. "Steven, may I come in?"  
  
"Sure, Thor." Steve replied hoping that Thor would have some news, or just something that made this seem not as bad as it felt.  
  
However when Thor came in his face was solemn. "Bruce informed us of what had happened. How is he?" Thor asked sitting next to Steve on the bed.  
  
"I don't know, I think he was in a state of shock before. He was already sick and now with being turned even younger I don't know how he's going to handle it all. I just feel like I should have done something, we all knew Loki was a trickster. We should have been more careful." Steve said lost as to what they could do now.  
  
"Aye, my brother has always had a gift with words. Don't feel bad Captain, I've never met a man that couldn't be tricked by Loki." Thor said placing one hand on Steve's shoulder trying to offer him some comfort.  
  
"What about Tony though? What am I going to tell him when he wakes up?" Steve said sighing.  
  
"You will give him comfort and remind him that this won't be permanent. Loki can't evade us forever, next time he comes we will face him together."  
  
"Has Loki ever done this before?" Steve asked hoping that Thor might know what Loki's likely to do next.  
  
"Turned someone into a child?" Thor asked.  
  
Steve nodded. "Maybe if you could remember something like this happening before it can help us plan."  
  
"My brother has always been fond of tricks. Before they were never malicious in nature, just harmless pranks it typically depended on who his target was. I think I remember one incident like this, although I was away at the time. Lady Sif told me about it, apparently something happened with Loki and Fandral no one knew what but Loki turned Fandral into a child because of it." Thor replied smiling slightly at the memory.  
  
"Do you know what Fandral did to get back to normal?" Steve asked curious. This was the first solid lead they had for days, maybe Fandral could help them get back to normal.  
  
"I do not. It was all over with by the time I returned and he was not forthcoming about what happened either before or after. I could go back to Asgard and question him again about it, this time I shall get the full story out of him." Thor said his grip on Mjölnir tightening.  
  
"Are you sure Thor?" Steve was eager to get any information that might help Tony, but at the same time Thor hadn't long been back from his last trip to Asgard.  
  
"I am sure, it's about time I got the truth about what happened. It was my brother that did this, I won't rest until this is fixed." Thor said sullenly before he was gone in a flash of lightning.  
  
The sound of Thor leaving caused Tony to stir, Steve wasn't sure if it was a side effect of Loki's spell or if Tony was usually like this after he woke up but he started to whimper. Steve smiled at the image of tiny Tony rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Steve?" Tony asked opening his eyes.  
  
"Hey there, how are you feeling Tony?" Steve asked reaching a hand out to brush Tony's hair.  
Tony pouted and didn't say anything just curled up and reached out to tug on Steve's arm.  
  
"What is it?" Steve asked confused.  
  
"I'm sick, and I'm even younger now thanks to Loki so you're going to come here and hug me." Tony said stubbornly.  
  
Steve had to smile, Tony was typically a little clingy when he was sick. But this was the first time he actively demanded physical attention off of Steve. He climbed on the bed and wrapped his arms around Tony's small frame holding him close.  
  
"Do you think this will be over soon?" Tony asked looking up at Steve.  
  
"I don't know, Thor's gone to talk to Fandral apparently Loki did this once before. Maybe he'll find out something that will help?" Steve said trying to sound positive.  
  
"What are we going to do about the team?" Tony asked cuddling up to Steve.  
  
"There's nothing much we can do. It's only been a few days Tony don't worry about it. There's plenty of other heroes that we can call on to help us out until we can get you back to your right age." Steve said. He wanted to reassure Tony that everything would be alright but even he didn't know if it would be. The only person that could fix this was Loki, and he didn't know how they could possibly get him to do that.  
  
"How are we gonna do that? Loki tricked us last time and made me even younger. We try again and he just might turn me into a baby." Tony said with a pout. Steve wasn't sure if Tony was aware he was pouting. As Tony told him many times 'I don't pout Steve, I have a very manly grimace.'  
  
"We'll be better prepared this time Tony. We'll have Thor with us, and if anyone knows Loki it would be him."

  
"Why'd Loki do this in the first place? I didn't do nuthin- I mean I didn't do nothing to him." Tony said correcting his earlier lisp.

  
Steve couldn't help but smile, the lisp was really adorable. He'd noticed it a little earlier but now that Tony was younger it was a lot more prominent. "I don't know what goes through Loki's mind nor would I want to. But we'll fix it. Just have faith in us Tony, have faith in me. I won't stop until you're at the age you're supposed to be."  
  
"Thanks Steb-Steve! Thank you Steve." Tony said sounding a little panicked towards the end.  
  
Steve wanted to tell Tony that he didn't need to worry about the slight lisp but he had a feeling his words would fall flat. It was something Tony was very quick to cover and Steve had a feeling that this insecurity might stem from Howard himself. He knew that as a father Howard was very strict, however Tony was never very willing to talk about his parents so Steve mostly went on what he had learned from both the media and his teammates. Plus he had a feeling pointing it out would only make Tony feel worse.  
  
This he knew from personal experience. Before the serum back when he was just a sickly, skinny, boy from Brooklyn. He hated anyone teasing him about his height or weight or health. But it was worse when Bucky use to point it out, Bucky always tried to make it sound like not a big deal or tried to make Steve feel more confident about his appearance. But it always just made him feel worse, and that wasn't Bucky's fault he was just trying to help.  
  
Steve was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Tony sigh.  
  
"I swear Loki made me this way just so I'd have my lisp back." Tony said mumbling.  
  
Steve smiled and hugged Tony a little tighter. "I don't think Loki would make you this young just for that. The guy seems more like a bigger picture person as opposed to doing something like this just for the sake of it. Besides the lisp is cute Tony."  
  
"You really think Loki has a grand plan to all of this? Not just to cause mischief? And shush it's not cute, it's annoying. I got put through speech therapy because of this stupid lisp."  
  
"You were put in a speech class?" Steve asked shocked.  
  
Tony nodded pouting. "Howard thought it would be for the best to have me trained out of it early enough. Don't look like that, Howard didn't exactly force me to go to them I wanted to. Focus Steve, we have more important things to worry about than my lisp. What about Loki?"  
  
Steve sighed and nodded. "I think Loki's smart, we've seen him pull off plans that have taken a huge amount of planning. I don't know if he was doing this for a reason or to give us trouble but either way I think the worst mistake we could make is underestimating the guy." Steve said thinking about it. It was hard to know what Loki's endgame was or if he even had one but either way he wasn't going to stop until this was fixed.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I already did that once."  
  
"Tony you can't blame yourself for this. We've been through this, Loki is smart and has a way with words that no one else has. You can't take the weight of the world on your shoulders, I underestimated Loki too. But thinking about it won't solve anything. I have faith that Thor will find something out. Just trust us, trust that the team has your back and stop overthinking everything." Steve said sternly.  
  
He knew how Tony could get sometimes, he always seemed to blame himself. In the beginning Steve didn't notice, took Tony's ego and bravado at face value and never realized how much of it was just for show. Sometimes Tony just needed the reassurance that it's not his fault. The same way Bruce needed reassurance that he wasn't a monster, or Thor needed reminding that not everything Loki did was his fault.  
  
They all needed reassurances now and then, it was hard not to blame yourself when people were hurt or dying. But that's why they had each other, so on the bad days they could rely on the team to remind them that despite what they could do they were all still human at the end of the day and sometimes there's nothing that they can do to change things no matter how badly they might want to.  
  
Tony nodded and snuggled closer to Steve. He was being very quiet and Steve knew Tony well enough to know that meant he was thinking very hard about something. "Everything okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm just a little tired." Tony said shrugging.  
  
Steve wasn't sure to believe that, Tony never admitted if he was tired. He would just keep going until someone or something stopped him. He was about to ask Tony about it when there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Steve, it's Bruce. I brought some things for Tony." Bruce's voice called out.  
  
"Come in Bruce." Steve said wondering what it was that Bruce had with him.  
  
Bruce smiled softly when he saw Steve and Tony. Tony was still holding onto Steve, and Steve's arm was around Tony's shoulders hugging him close. He placed the tray he was carrying on the bed.  
  
"I brought some broth and crackers for Tony to try but first some medicine." Bruce said grabbing a bottle and plastic spoon.  
  
"What is that?" Steve asked, pointing to the bottle.  
  
"It's just some medication to help Tony get over the stomach flu, after he takes it he can try some broth." Bruce explained opening the bottle and pouring some out.  
  
"Why can't I do that myself?" Tony said he didn't want to be treated like a child.  
  
"You can, but you usually whine at me until I do it." Bruce explained amused that Tony seemed to be seeing ulterior motives in everything.  
  
"I do not whine, I merely ask you to do it." Tony said sitting up a bit more.  
  
"So if you usually ask me to do it why do you want me to not do it now?" Bruce asked with a smile knowing he'd already won.  
  
Considering the only answer Tony could think of involved the fact that he was physically a child he decided to just keep quiet and accept the medicine. He wasn't a child, but when he got sick it was nice to have someone take care of him.  
  
After he had the medicine which wasn't that bad, he ate some of the broth and had one cracker before deciding he didn't want anymore.  
  
"That's not really a lot Tony." Steve said sounding worried. Which was practically his default setting when talking to Tony, especially lately.  
  
"I don't want anymore." Tony said laying back down. His stomach was still hurting and he was done with food, for now at least.  
  
"The medication should help soothe his stomach, but for now he ate well all things considered. Rest might be just what he needs." Bruce said when it looked like Steve was going to argue. Steve always got like this when one of the team was injured or sick. Tony assumed it was because of his past. Even though Steve knew things were different now, worry and anxiety hardly ever listened to things like reason and logic.  
  
"I'll be fine Steve." Tony said trying to reassure him.  
  
"Alright, you rest. Just call one of us if you need anything." Steve said getting up as he and Bruce left Tony alone to sleep, and hopefully get over this bug. However when Bruce went to check on Tony a few hours later the room was surprisingly empty as was the whole tower.  
  
Tony Stark had vanished.


End file.
